California Pizza Kitchen 3Q profit triples

LOS ANGELES - California Pizza Kitchen Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter profit more than tripled to almost $5 million on strong revenue growth.

The gourmet pizza restaurant said it earned 20 cents per share, up from a profit of $1.4 million, or 5 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Revenue rose 7.3 percent to almost $174 million, from $162 million a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a profit of 19 cents per share on revenue of $174 million.

Sales at company-owned restaurants opened at least 18 months fell 2.4 percent during the quarter. Such sales are considered a key indicator because they measure growth at existing locations rather than new ones.

The company said average weekly sales at its 194 company-owned restaurants was $66,718, down from $68,972 during the same period last year.

The company said that for the full year, it expects to earn 60 to 63 cents per share. It also said it expects comparable restaurant sales to fall 2 percent.

Analysts were expecting a full-year profit of 68 cents per share.

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